buLL. 30] 



StKSlKA SlKSmOKAKS 



571 



bands were gentes, but if so, their gentile 

 character is no longer apparent. There 

 is also a military and fraternal organiza- 

 tion, similar to that existing in other 

 Plains tribes, known among the Blackfeet 

 as the IkunuJilailiisi, or ' All Comrades,' 

 and consisting formerly, according to 

 Grinnell, of at least 12 orclers or societies, 

 most of which are now extinct. They 

 have a great number of dances — religious, 

 war, and social — besides secret societies 

 for various purposes, together with many 

 " sacred bundles," around each of which 

 centers a ritual. Practically every adult 

 has also his personal ' ' medicine. ' ' Both 

 sexes may be members of some societies. 

 Their principal deities are the Sun, and a 

 supernatural being known as Napi, 'Old 

 Man,' who may be an incarnation of the 

 same idea. The dead are usually depos- 

 ited in trees or sometimes laid away in 

 tipis erected for the purpose on promi- 

 nent hills. 



As usual, many of the early estimates 

 of Blackfoot population are plainly un- 

 reliable. The best appears to be that of 

 Mackenzie, who estimated them about 

 1790 at 2,250 to 2,500 warriors, or perhaps 

 9,000 souls. In 1780-81, in 1837-38, in 

 1845, in 1857-58, and in 1869 they suffered 

 great losses by smallpox. In 1864 they 

 were reduced by measles, and in 1883-84 

 some600 of those in Montana died of sheer 

 starvation in consequence of the sudden 

 extinction of the buffalo coincident with 

 a reduction of rations. Tbe official In- 

 dian report for 1858 gave them 7,300 souls, 

 but another estimate, quoted by Hayden 

 as having been made "under the most 

 favorable circumstances ' ' about the same 

 time, gives them 2,400 warriors and 6,720 

 souls. In 1909 they were officially re- 

 ported to number in all 4,635, viz: Black- 

 foot agency, Alberta, 795; Blood agency, 

 Alberta, 1,174; Piegan agency. Alberta, 

 471; Blackfoot agencv( Piegan), Montana, 

 2,195. 



Consult Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales, 

 1892; Hayden, Ethnog. and Philol. Mo. 

 Val., 1862; Schultz, My Life as an Indian, 

 1907; Wissler (1) in Ontario Archseol. 

 Rep. forl905, 1906, (2)in Anthr. Pap. Am. 

 Mus. Nat. Hist., v, pt. 1, 1910. (j. m.) 

 Ah-hi'-ta-pe.— Morgan, Consang. and Affin., 289, 

 1871 (former name for themselves; trans, 'blood 

 people'). Ayatchinini. — Baraga, Eng.-Otch. Diet., 

 29, 1878 (Chippewa name). Ayatchiyiniw. — La- 

 combe. Diet. Langue Cris, 325, 1864 ('stranger,' 

 'alien,' 'enemy': Cree name for Siksika, Bloods, 

 and Piegan V Beaux Hommes. — Dobbs, Hudson 

 Bay, 35, 1744.' Blackfeet.— Writer of 1786 in Mass. 

 Hist. Soc. Coll., 1st s.. Ill, 24, 1794. Blackfoot.— 

 Lewis and Clark, Discov., 58, 1806. Carme- 

 neh. — Crow MS. vocab., B. A. E. (Crow name). 

 Choch-Katit.— Maximilian, Trav., ii, 247, 1841 

 (Arikaraname). Chokitapia. — L'Heureuxin Jour. 

 Anthr. Inst., G. B., 162. Nov. 1885. Cuskceteh- 

 waw-thesseetuck. — Franklin, Journ. Polar Sea, 97, 

 1824. E-ch'ip-e-ta.- Long, Exped. Rocky Mts., 

 II, Ixxix, 1828 (Crow name). Erchipeetay. — Gal- 

 latin in Trans. Am. Antiq. Soc, ii, 377, 1836 



(Crow name). High-minded people. — Morgan, 

 Consang. and Affin., '289, 1871. Ish-te-pit'-e. — 

 Hayden, Ethnog. and Philol. Mo. Val., 402, 1862 

 (Crow name). Issi-Chupicha. — Maximilian, Trav., 

 II, '234, 1841 (Hidatsa name; French form). Issi- 

 Schiipiscba. — Ibid. (Hidatsaname; German form). 

 Itsisihisa. — Matthews, Hidatsalnds., 217, 1877 (Hi- 

 datsa name). Itsisipisa. — Ibid., 162 (Hidatsa 

 name: 'black feet,' from iipiia 'black,' and ^tsi 

 'foot'). It-ze-su-pe-sha. — Long, Exped. Rocky 

 Mts., II, Ixxxiv, 1.S23 (Hidatsa name). Katce. — 

 Wilson, Rep. on N. W. Tribes to Brit. A. A. S. 11, 

 1888 (Sarsi name). Ka-wi'-na-han. — Hayden, Eth- 

 nog. and Philol. Mo. Val., 326,1862 ("black people': 

 Arapaho name). Makadewana-ssidok. — Gatschet, 

 Ojibwa MS., B. A. E., 1882 (Chippewa name). 

 Mamakata'wana-si'ta'-ak, — Gatschet, Fox MS., 

 B. A. E., 1882 (Fox name). Mkate-wetiteta.— 

 Gatschet, Shawnee MS., B. A. E., 1879 (Shaw- 

 nee name; pi. Mkatewetitetehki) . Uukkudda 

 Ozitunnug.— Tanner Narr., 316, 1830 (Ottawa 

 name). Netsepoye. — Hale in Rep. Brit. A. A. S. 

 1885, 707, 1886 ('people who speak one language': 

 name sometimes used by the confederacy ) . Pah- 

 kee.— Lewis and Clark," Exped., I, 408, 1814 (Sho- 

 shoni name). Paik.— Gebow, Snake Vocab., 7, 

 1868. Par'-keeh.— Stuart, Montana;As ItjIs, 23, 1865. 

 Patas-negras. — Barriero, Ojeadasijbre Nuevo Mex- 

 ico, app., 10, 1832. Pawkees.— Lewis and Clark, 

 Exped., I, 418, 1814. Peiki.— Gebow, Snake Vo- 

 cab., 7, 1868. Pieds-noirs.— De Smet, Miss., 84, 

 1844. Pike.— Gebow, Snake Vocab., 7, 1868 (Sho- 

 shoni name). Po'-o-mas. — Hayden, Ethnog. and 

 Philol. Mo. Val. , 290, 1862 ( 'blankets whitened with 

 earth': Cheyennename). Saha'ntla. — A. F. Cham- 

 berlain, inf'n, 1903 (' bad people' : Kutenai name). 

 Saketiipiks,— McLean, Inds., 130, 1889. Sasitka.— 

 Schoolcraft, Ind. Tribes, vi, 688, 1857. Sat-sia- 

 qua.— Robinson, Gt. Fur Land, 187,1879. Satsi- 

 kaa.— Hale, Ethnol. and Philol., 219, 1846. Saw- 

 ketakix.— Hale in Rep. Brit. A. A. S. 1885, 707, 1886 

 ('men of the plains': name sometimes used by 

 themselves). Saxoe-koe-koon. — Franklin, Journ. 

 Polar Sea, 97, 1824. S'chkoe.— Mengarini, Kalis- 

 pelm Diet., B. A. E., 1877 (Kalispel name; abbre- 

 viated form). S'chkoeishin. — Ibid. (Kalispel name, 

 fromfcodt, 'black'). Schwarzfiissige. — Giissefeld, 

 map,1797. Seksekai.— Maximilian, Trav. ,245,1843. 

 Sica'be.— Dorsey, Kansas MS. vocab., B. A. E., 1882 

 (Kansa name). Si-ha'-sa-pa. — Cook, Yankton 

 MS. vocab., B.A. E., 1882 ('blackfeet': Yankton 

 name). Sikcitano,— Can. Ind. Aff., 125, 1902. 

 Siksekai. — Maximilian, Trav.. 246, 1843. Sik-si- 

 ka'.— Hayden, Ethnog. and Philol. Mo. Val., 264, 

 1862. Siksikai.— Maximilian (1839) quoted by 

 Hayden, ibid., 256. Sikskekuanak. — Hale, Ethnol. 

 and Philol., 219, 1846. Sitkeas.— Schoolcraft, Ind. 

 Tribes, iii, 252, 1853. Six-he-kie-koon.— Henry, 

 MS. vocab., 1808. Sixikau'a.— Tims, Blackfoot 

 Gram, and Diet., 112, 1889. Skuaisheni.— Gat- 

 schet, Okinagan MS., B. A. E., 1883 ('black 

 foot': Salish name). St^uaixn. — Ibid, ('black': 

 Okinagan name). Tonkonko.— Mooney in 17th 

 Rep. B. A. E., I, 426, 1898 ('black legs': Kiowa 

 name). Tuhu'vti-omokat. — Gatschet, Coman- 

 che MS., B. A. E., 1884 (Comanche name, 

 from tuhi'ivti 'black'). Wateni'hte. — Gatschet, 

 Arapaho MS., B. A. E., 1882 (Arapaho name). 

 Yatchee-thinyoowuc. — Richardson quoted by 

 Franklin, Journ. Polar Sea, 96, 1824 ('strangers': 

 Cree name for several tribes, including the 

 Siksika). 



Siksika. A tribe of the Siksika confed- 

 eracy (q. V. ) . They now live on a reserva- 

 tion in Alberta, Canada, on upper Bow r., 

 and are officially known as the Running 

 Rabbit and Yellow Horse bands. They 

 were divided into the following subtribes 

 or bands: Aisikstukiks, Apikaiyiks, Emi- 

 tahpahksaiyiks, Motahtosiks, Puhksinah- 

 mahyiks, Saiyiks, Siksinokaks,Tsiniktsis- 

 tsoyiks. Pop. 942 in 1902, 795 in 1909. 



Siksinokaks (' black elks ' ) . A subtribe 

 or band of the Kainah division of the 



